Practicing certificates are renewed each year when the requirements of Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) are met. A set number of hours of professional development must be completed each year (10 MCLE units) such as private study, giving lectures, attending seminars and publishing articles. To practice in a court exercising Federal jurisdiction, it is required that the lawyer is entitled to practice in State Supreme Courts and entry in the Register of Practitioners held by the High Court of Australia. It is possible to practice in other Australian states and New Zealand through mutual recognition schemes without re-admission.
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Interview with Sebastian Hartford Davis Sebastian went to the Bar in May of 2014 and has tutored in Contract and Equity for the Macquarie Law School. Having studied at Oxford to gain a Bachelor in Civil Law and later a PhD, how did you go about applying to study there? Applying for postgraduate law at Oxford is like any other application invoing a standard form, supporting documents and referees. The distinguishing factor for the success of your application is usually grades –I think those with first class Honours should be well placed. Beyond that, the hardest part is likely to be meeting the fee liability. As part of your application, you need to research which College best suits what you want to get out of the Oxford experience. I started at Keble College, which is traditionally sports orientated, and has a great law program. I then moved to New College, where I became a Junior Dean. The two colleges
Barrister Barristers are lawyers who specialise in court work and advocacy for clients before courts and tribunals. Their work involves the preparation of court documents and advising client about the likelihood of their case being successful if litigated. Barristers work independently and are briefed by a solicitor before they take on work. To practice as a barrister, a person must satisfy the following: 1. Be admitted as a lawyer by a State Supreme Court; 2. Gain a pass mark of 75 for all three Bar entrance exams, covering the topics of ‘Ethics’, ‘Evidence’ and ‘Practice and Procedure’ (this
were very different. People who have been to Oxford will be happy to help you decide a College. [More information here] Having recently gone to the Bar, what was the process you had to go through to establish yourself as a barrister (aside from the admissions processes)? I applied for a place at Banco Chambers over a year in advance of my anticipated start date (May 2014), and as part of my application made approaches to my tutors. I sat the exams in February 2014, and attended the bar course for the month of April 2014. Other steps were purchasing the appropriate attire for court (robes, wig, bar jacket, jabot), an office chair and any computer equipment. The bar course is very informative about other necessary matters such as professional indemnity insurance. It is also important to have savings to fall back on when you start up, since cash flow is often a real issue at the beginning. Many new barristers are able to solve the cash flow problem by doing devilling work (research etc for other barristers), where payment is often immediate. [More information here] You are quite young - why did you decide to go to the bar so young? In my bar course, my impression was that the